Wild Atlantic salmon are what is known as a ‘Keystone’ species – a species which is critical to the overall structure and functioning of an ecosystem. With their incredible lifecycle, in which they begin life in freshwater, migrate out to the ocean to reach adulthood, and then return to their home rivers to spawn (often dying afterwards), their bodies are a unique transportation vessel for marine-derived nutrients to be delivered far up into our freshwater catchments.

From the earliest days of human civilization, the ‘King of Fish’ has been revered. Wild Atlantic salmon are deeply intertwined with communities across the North Atlantic and our shared natural and cultural heritage has been interwoven with the species for centuries. Now, along well-known Atlantic salmon rivers, jobs, businesses and communities depend on wild Atlantic salmon and, in many cases, now lie at the heart of efforts to restore the species.

The future of wild Atlantic salmon needn’t be one of continued decline and disappearance. Though the challenge to halt, and reverse the decline is great, wild Atlantic salmon can have a thriving future if we choose to give it to them now. The Missing Salmon Alliance is determined to achieve a future where wild Atlantic salmon thrive once again, sustaining ecosystems, communities, and continue to play a vital role in our own human story.